Dolly Sods and Douglas Falls, West Virginia (Sep/29/2018)
Sept 30, 2018 16:29:44 GMT -5
Post by GaliWalker on Sept 30, 2018 16:29:44 GMT -5
A trifecta: Sunrise magic at Bear Rocks; tour of Dolly Sods (North); waterfall photography at Douglas Falls.
Sunrise at Bear Rocks
I left Pittsburgh at 3:00am, and made a beeline for one of my favorite viewpoints in West Virginia: Bear Rocks. Since this is right beside FR75, a gravel road, the place was already teeming with people when I arrived there at 6:30am. I grabbed the headlamp and made my way over to my favorite outcrop, which was thankfully still up for grabs. The sunrise was quite stunning, although I was a bit disappointed to find that fall colors were yet to hold sway.
GaliWalker at Bear Rocks (selfie)
Potholes
Comma and periods
Dolly Sods North, from Bear Rocks
Dolly Sods North
By 9:00am I was done with Bear Rocks and in the mood for hiking. The trailhead for the Bear Rocks Trail, which was to be my access point into Dolly Sods, is right next to the viewpoint, so I didn’t even move my car. Dolly Sods is a 4000ft plateau; the northern part is mostly open grassland and the occasional spruce thicket, while the southern part is more forested.
I took the Bear Rocks Trail west to its end, skirting the northern part of Dolly Sods, where I picked up the Raven Ridge Trail, which continued the westward progression. All the trails were extremely muddy, possibly the muddiest I’ve ever seen there, and I was extremely glad that I had my knee-length gaiters on. Everyone else was complaining of waterlogged footwear.
GaliWalker in Dolly Sods (selfie)
The Raven Ridge Trail deposited me onto the Rocky Ridge Trail, where I made a southerly turn in my circuitous route. The Rocky Ridge Trail gets its name due to some interesting rock outcrops, which line the trail and look like fluffy white pillows. In brilliant sunshine, I skipped along this part with a song in my heart.
GaliWalker on pillows (selfie)
I continued to work my way south until I hit the junction with the Harman Trail. This was my furthest point from the car. I had originally planned a slightly more ambitious route, but the extreme muddiness of the trails had me rethinking that. I decided to remove some of the complexity and just make a straight shot back to FR75, via the Harman and then Blackbird Knob Trail. I closed my loop with a 2.5mi road-walk back to the car.
Stats: 14mi, 6hrs
Douglas Falls
I ended my entertainment with some waterfall photography at Douglas Falls, down the road in nearby Canaan Valley.
Lights, camera, action!
Total trip time: 18.75hrs
Sunrise at Bear Rocks
I left Pittsburgh at 3:00am, and made a beeline for one of my favorite viewpoints in West Virginia: Bear Rocks. Since this is right beside FR75, a gravel road, the place was already teeming with people when I arrived there at 6:30am. I grabbed the headlamp and made my way over to my favorite outcrop, which was thankfully still up for grabs. The sunrise was quite stunning, although I was a bit disappointed to find that fall colors were yet to hold sway.
GaliWalker at Bear Rocks (selfie)
Potholes
Comma and periods
Dolly Sods North, from Bear Rocks
Dolly Sods North
By 9:00am I was done with Bear Rocks and in the mood for hiking. The trailhead for the Bear Rocks Trail, which was to be my access point into Dolly Sods, is right next to the viewpoint, so I didn’t even move my car. Dolly Sods is a 4000ft plateau; the northern part is mostly open grassland and the occasional spruce thicket, while the southern part is more forested.
I took the Bear Rocks Trail west to its end, skirting the northern part of Dolly Sods, where I picked up the Raven Ridge Trail, which continued the westward progression. All the trails were extremely muddy, possibly the muddiest I’ve ever seen there, and I was extremely glad that I had my knee-length gaiters on. Everyone else was complaining of waterlogged footwear.
GaliWalker in Dolly Sods (selfie)
The Raven Ridge Trail deposited me onto the Rocky Ridge Trail, where I made a southerly turn in my circuitous route. The Rocky Ridge Trail gets its name due to some interesting rock outcrops, which line the trail and look like fluffy white pillows. In brilliant sunshine, I skipped along this part with a song in my heart.
GaliWalker on pillows (selfie)
I continued to work my way south until I hit the junction with the Harman Trail. This was my furthest point from the car. I had originally planned a slightly more ambitious route, but the extreme muddiness of the trails had me rethinking that. I decided to remove some of the complexity and just make a straight shot back to FR75, via the Harman and then Blackbird Knob Trail. I closed my loop with a 2.5mi road-walk back to the car.
Stats: 14mi, 6hrs
Douglas Falls
I ended my entertainment with some waterfall photography at Douglas Falls, down the road in nearby Canaan Valley.
Lights, camera, action!
Total trip time: 18.75hrs